Aisle on the south side of the Puthu Mundapum, from the western portico. [Pudu Mandapa, Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai]

This photograph of a view looking along the colonnade of the Meenakshi Sundareshvara temple, Madurai, Tamilnadu, is part of a collection entitled 'Photographic Views in Madurai ' (Madras, 1858) and was taken by Linnaeus Tripe in 1858. The great complex of the Meenakshi Sundareshvara Temple (17th century), dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi, the consort of Shiva, is contained within a vast enclosure entered through tall gopuras or towers extremely elaborate and completely covered with figures of divinities, celestial beings, monster masks and animals encrusted in plaster decoration painted in vivid colours. The Puthu Mandapa is situated in front of the east gopura and consists of a long hall with piers carved with yalis and portrait sculptures of the Nayaka rulers.